Ade the following hypothesis: Prediction 1 Elderly people will feel higher intention

Ade the following hypothesis: Prediction 1 Beclabuvir site elderly people will feel higher intention to use toward the wheelchair robot than human caregivers. Concerning RQ2, we have two conflicting expectations. The first is the positive effects of the social behaviors of a wheelchair robot. As past research work showed [22], the social behaviors of Beclabuvir biological activity robots increase its perceived ease of use and enjoyment, which are related to intention to use. The second one is the negative effects of the social behaviors of a wheelchair robot; previous research works about moving support for elderly people designed their robots as a tool without social behaviors like caregivers [10, 11]. This approach might be appropriate to fulfill the “intention to use” of a wheelchair robot from a tool perspective; i.e., a tool-like design is better for wheelchair robots that support elderly fpsyg.2014.00726 people. Based on these considerations, we established two contradictory predictions: Prediction 2-a Elderly people will feel higher intention to use for a wheelchair robot with social behaviors than one without them. Prediction 2-b Elderly people will feel lower intention to use for a wheelchair robot with social behaviors than one without them. To address these two research questions, we observed the social behaviors of caregivers while pushing a wheelchair at a private resident home and implemented them on an autonomous wheelchair robot.Social behavior design based on observation of caregiversTo design social behaviors for an autonomous wheelchair robot, we visited a private resident home where about 100 seniors live, among whom about 20 rely on wheelchairs every day. We observed the caregiver’s behaviors while they pushed wheelchairs for a day and interviewed the facility’s administrator. We identified two kinds of pnas.1408988111 social behaviors, individual-oriented and place-oriented, which can be implemented on an autonomous wheelchair robot to an extent.PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128031 May 20,3 /Effectiveness of Social Behaviors for Autonomous Wheelchair RobotIndividual-oriented behaviorsGreeting by name. Most caregivers greet the elderly people by name when they start pushing the wheelchair. Such interaction is essential to construct relationships between caregivers and elderly people. It is also important for human-robot interaction; in fact, in our previous studies, we found that people appreciated robots that called their names [23, 24]. Moreover, other research have also investigated the effects of calling people by name regarding acceptance of robots [25]. Therefore, we continued this strategy and prepared behaviors to greet the seniors by names: “Hello, Yamada-san.”, this behavior is used before starting the moving support. Preferred speed. Most caregivers adjusted their wheeling speed to match the individual preferences of the seniors. In particular, experienced caregivers moved more slowly during moving supports. However, maintaining slow speed consistently is generally difficult for humans; for example, some caregivers increase their speed when they are busy. In an interview, the administrator explained the gap between the wheeling speed preferred by the seniors and the preferred speed by the caregivers. The administrator also pointed out that caregivers try to move slowly during wheeling, but many seniors wanted them to move even slower. Recently, Morales et al. have investigated the importance of preferred velocity for wheelchair users from viewpoint of their comfort [26]. There.Ade the following hypothesis: Prediction 1 Elderly people will feel higher intention to use toward the wheelchair robot than human caregivers. Concerning RQ2, we have two conflicting expectations. The first is the positive effects of the social behaviors of a wheelchair robot. As past research work showed [22], the social behaviors of robots increase its perceived ease of use and enjoyment, which are related to intention to use. The second one is the negative effects of the social behaviors of a wheelchair robot; previous research works about moving support for elderly people designed their robots as a tool without social behaviors like caregivers [10, 11]. This approach might be appropriate to fulfill the “intention to use” of a wheelchair robot from a tool perspective; i.e., a tool-like design is better for wheelchair robots that support elderly fpsyg.2014.00726 people. Based on these considerations, we established two contradictory predictions: Prediction 2-a Elderly people will feel higher intention to use for a wheelchair robot with social behaviors than one without them. Prediction 2-b Elderly people will feel lower intention to use for a wheelchair robot with social behaviors than one without them. To address these two research questions, we observed the social behaviors of caregivers while pushing a wheelchair at a private resident home and implemented them on an autonomous wheelchair robot.Social behavior design based on observation of caregiversTo design social behaviors for an autonomous wheelchair robot, we visited a private resident home where about 100 seniors live, among whom about 20 rely on wheelchairs every day. We observed the caregiver’s behaviors while they pushed wheelchairs for a day and interviewed the facility’s administrator. We identified two kinds of pnas.1408988111 social behaviors, individual-oriented and place-oriented, which can be implemented on an autonomous wheelchair robot to an extent.PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0128031 May 20,3 /Effectiveness of Social Behaviors for Autonomous Wheelchair RobotIndividual-oriented behaviorsGreeting by name. Most caregivers greet the elderly people by name when they start pushing the wheelchair. Such interaction is essential to construct relationships between caregivers and elderly people. It is also important for human-robot interaction; in fact, in our previous studies, we found that people appreciated robots that called their names [23, 24]. Moreover, other research have also investigated the effects of calling people by name regarding acceptance of robots [25]. Therefore, we continued this strategy and prepared behaviors to greet the seniors by names: “Hello, Yamada-san.”, this behavior is used before starting the moving support. Preferred speed. Most caregivers adjusted their wheeling speed to match the individual preferences of the seniors. In particular, experienced caregivers moved more slowly during moving supports. However, maintaining slow speed consistently is generally difficult for humans; for example, some caregivers increase their speed when they are busy. In an interview, the administrator explained the gap between the wheeling speed preferred by the seniors and the preferred speed by the caregivers. The administrator also pointed out that caregivers try to move slowly during wheeling, but many seniors wanted them to move even slower. Recently, Morales et al. have investigated the importance of preferred velocity for wheelchair users from viewpoint of their comfort [26]. There.